No Can Do. I Have Plans

If you have been following the thread here you know that Sophie has lost a LOT of weight and she had stopped eating. For any animal this is a really bad sign, but for a lab - especially Sophie - there is nothing worse.

So after a very long, very teary discussion Friday night, Roy and I decided that Saturday we would take Sophie to the vet and put her down. The short story is that she can't live if she won't eat, and her trembling was more and more prominent indicating she was in a lot of pain. We decided that we would give her Tramadol for pain and Mirtazapine for her mood (antidepressant) and just keep her as comfortable as possible. Of course as soon as we decided this my brain went crazy looking for another way out. I hugged Sophie and cried into her fur and told her how amazing she is and how lucky I am. I told her I was trying to do the best thing for her and all her pain would stop soon.

Well, Sophie caught the entire conversation and her response to being put down? "No can do. I have plans."

Saturday, Sophie ate probably a 1/2 pound each of sliced turkey and sliced ham. She had at least 1.5 cups of kibble, some crackers, etc. I could go on, but the point is that Sophie has been eating and eating and eating for three days. Last night she ate 1/2 my dinner as well as hers. She is still inconsistent in her eating. There are still times where she completely refuses food - turns her head in disgust - and times where she refuses, but if you can somehow get her started she really gets started. She is swimming everyday, she is napping well and mostly sleeping through the night. The frantic pacing seems to be gone and she enjoys walking (very slowly) around the block. We have taken her with us to the park for a picnic and around town to do errands. She has been pleased to feel the wind in her face.

We are grateful to still have her. We don't know what any of this means or how long it will last or if it is too late anyway. But my world is a better place when Sophie shares it with me.